Measles: what you need to know about the disease

How easy is measles to catch?

Measles is a highly infectious disease, caused by a virus that spreads from one person to another in water droplets from coughs and sneezes. But it can also be picked up from touching a surface where droplets carrying the virus have landed and then taking the hands to the mouth. So if one person in a household has the virus, it is very likely to spread to everybody else living there, and their visitors. You won't know you have it for nearly two weeks after contracting the virus, however.

What are the symptoms?

A child with measles will initially feel generally unwell, as if he or she has a bad cold. They might develop red eyes, which are sensitive to light. They will probably run a temperature. There may be greyish-white spots in the mouth and throat, but they disappear quite quickly. The familiar reddish spots start to show a few days later, beginning on the back of the ears, spreading to the neck, the face and eventually down the body and legs. NHS Choices has a slide showing the sort of rash to expect here. The rash may be itchy and will turn to a darker, brownish colour before disappearing.

What are the complications?

Even for a healthy child, measles is not pleasant. Complications are common and include diarrhoea, vomiting, eye infection, ear infection and laryngitis. The fever can sometimes lead to fits, which are alarming but not dangerous. Less common complications are meningitis, pneumonia (affecting one in 20 children), hepatitis and rarely, encephalitis – inflammation of the brain, which can cause convulsions, deafness and other long-term damage. One or two children die in every 1,000 cases in wealthy countries, but up to a quarter of all those who get it in the developing world.

What about adults?

Adults who have been vaccinated or had measles as a child should be protected. Those who get it for the first time in adulthood are more likely to suffer from complications.

How do you treat measles?

Because this is a viral infection, antibiotics will not work, although they may be used to treat a secondary infection in the ear or the throat. There are no drugs to treat measles. Patients will want to rest, probably in a darkened room and should have plenty of water to prevent dehydration while they are feverish. Paracetamol or ibuprofen can be taken to help with pain. The immune system will fight off the virus in a week or 10 days. Patients with complications may be admitted to hospital.